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Monday, February 8, 2010

Rice and beans are so important for Brazilian cuisine that when we say something is “o arroz com feijão” (the rice and beans) of something else, we mean “the basics”, “the foundation”. So, let me try and explain some of the most basic, general differences between Brazilian and North American eating habits and their food staples to start with.

Brazilians usually have three main meals a day - a light breakfast right after waking up, a substantial lunch between noon and 2 pm, and dinner around 7 or 8 pm - in general, lighter than lunch (a full size soup with bread, or a salad, or some pasta, etc).

For breakfast, most people have coffee (strong coffee!), or coffee and milk (called “média”, when it's lighter, or “pingado”, when it's darker), and “pão francês” (similar to a baguette, but smaller and with a softer center - see picture; I’ll write more about it later) with butter. Some people make the meal more substantial by adding some cheese and ham to it, but bacon, sausage and even eggs are regarded as lunch / dinner (or maybe brunch) items, not breakfast. A variety of fresh fruit and their juices, sometimes mixed with milk instead of water, may be consumed as accompaniments. And there’s also the “pão de queijo” (a savory tapioca starch roll with cheese)... But this is worth a post itself, so I’ll leave it for later (pão de queijo post here).

For lunch, people usually have rice and beans, a small amount of protein (about 5 oz; beef, chicken and pork are the most popular meats), at least one cooked vegetable (frequently braised) - such as pumpkin, chayote, and broccoli, shown in the first picture of this post - and salad greens (lettuce, arugula, watercress), with tomatoes and/or other raw or cold additions, such as grated carrots or beets, hearts of palm, cucumber and sliced onion.

Well, this is the basic “rule” - which means there are countless exceptions. My point here is just to state that: i) rice and beans are the base of Brazilian cooking, and the preferred accompaniment to everyday meals, as opposed to, say, mashed potatoes in the U.S.; ii) although meat is an important part of the meal, it is usually consumed in smaller amounts. In a country where hunger has been an issue for so long, the “rice-and-beans” diet may have saved many impoverished people from starvation and even malnutrition, as rice and beans, when eaten together, constitute a high-quality, or complete, protein - containing the 20 essential amino acids.

Brazilian rice is prepared more or less like a pilaf, but the fat of choice is vegetable oil (a plain, flavorless one, preferably) - as you can see in the recipe below. Beans are mostly cooked in a pressure cooker with water only and, after that, seasoned with garlic and salt, among other things (later I’ll post the recipe for cooking beans in a pressure cooker; for now, check the recipe with canned beans).

There are many types of beans in Brazil - the largest consumer and producer of the legume in the world, with approximately 3.5 million tons harvested every year. The most popular beans are “feijão carioca / carioquinha” (similar to pinto beans), with 85% of the market, followed by black beans, with 10% (more common in Rio de Janeiro state, but mandatory in the preparation of the Brazilian national dish, “feijoada” - more soon!). The remaining 5% of sales are specialty beans, such as “jalo”, “fradinho”, “rosinha”, “bolinha”, “branco”, “verde”, “azuki” and “roxinho”.

Brazilian white rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped onion

1 cup white rice (long grain)

2 cups cold water, approximately (preferably filtered)

1 tsp salt

- If rice is not pre-washed, rinse it until water is clear and let it dry in a colander before using. Beware that you’re probably going to use less water to prepare it in this case.

- Heat oil in a saucepan and add onion. Fry over medium heat until it is soft and translucent.

- Add 1 1/2 cups of the water and the salt. Stir well. When it starts boiling, lower the heat and cook, partially covered, until water has almost completely evaporated.

- Add remaining water (less, if rice was rinsed) and continue cooking until all water has evaporated and the grains are cooked but slightly al dente (cooking will continue after you turn off the heat).

- Cover the pan, remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork before serving.

- Place the beans in a colander and rinse in cold water until there’s no more frothing on top of the beans.

- Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon, if using, and fry until golden brown.

- Add chopped garlic and fry until golden brown. Lower the heat.

- Add beans and, using the back of a spoon or ladle, smash some of the beans into a paste.

- Add about 1 cup of filtered water. Bring to a slow boil and cook until the broth is thick (heavy cream consistency) and brown colored - you might need to add a little more water. Season to taste with salt. Add chopped green onions or chives before serving.

Interesting blog! I'm an American living in Brazil (Salvador). Also interested in the work you've done on Brazilian culinary terms (is that what it is?).Since you asked for suggestions, I'd like to see more about fruit! Brazil has the most amazing variety of fruit probably in the world. (Most of it doesn't even translate into English, I suppose.)Feel free to check out my blog, too--www.thegoldenpapaya.com

Elisa, Great initiative! Just one thing about this recipe, do you add salt to the water when cooking the beans? I believe if you do that those beans will never cook to be soft enough to be smashed into a paste.

Hey guys!Thanks for the comments! "Golden Papaya", I'll try and post more about Brazilian fruits - Northeast is the best place to get really nice ones! I'll also post something about the glossary of cooking terms soon (Teixeira, E.D. and Tagnin, S.E.O. Vocabulário para Culinária. São Paulo: SBS, 2008).Guga, this recipe is for canned beans, which are precooked and very soft! I've tested the recipe many times and it works fine! ;o)

Love your rice and beans recipe. I grew up in Natal, Mossoro, and Fortaleza. I love Brasilian beans and rice. I have tried so many different recipes that I found on the internet and none came out tasting authentic until yours. Thank you!!! I love it. Uma delicia!

Thanks, Melissa and Eddie, for your comments! Nothing makes me happier than knowing that these recipes work for you and bring you good memories!I hope to post another recipe soon, so, come back.Um abraço!

I LOVE your site! My fiancee is from Brazil, and constantly talks about his mother's cooking. Well, I love to cook, so I decided I had better start cooking Brazilian food. The rice and beans recipe is amazing and SO easy! I love how it all starts with the 'refogado'. Anyway, as we were eating it, he commented that 'this tastes a lot like mom's food'. (of course, nothing will ever taste EXACTLY like hers, as she is the best cook, but hey, I was so excited that he even said it resembled his mother's cooking. So thank you so very much. I do hope you will post more recipes soon, as we just got our very first Brazilian supermarket here in Columbus! Obrigada!

Dear Christina,Your message made me very happy! In Brazil, there's no better compliment than someone saying your food "tastes like my mom's"! And you're right, it will never taste exactly like his mom's, because that's not a sensory memory, it comes straight from his heart. One day your children (and even him, when away from home) will say the same about YOUR food!!! :o)Do you know from what region of Brazil is his mom from? Maybe I can find you a good regional dish for you to impress him!I really hope this year i will have more time to post recipes. If all goes well, at least one this weekend - Casquinha de siri (Brazilian crab cake served on a shell).Thanks again for your nice comments!!!

That's a good question about where his mom is from. I think she's from an area called 'Nova Venecia'. My fiancee was born there, then raised in Vitoria, which is in Espirito Santo. That would be awesome if you could find something regional! I know he loves to eat meat, but I guess a lot of Brazilians do. You had a photo of a braised pork loin seasoned with salt, pepper, and lime juice that I know he would LOVE, but I couldn't find the recipe? Do you have that one? He also LOVES something called 'picahna', but I've never made that.

I hope you have time to post more recipes, too, as I think your recipes are amazing! :) I do remember trying the Casquinha de siri in Rio - it was delicious!

I will keep checking back...like I said, we just got a Brazilian supermarket here in Columbus, so I am super excited to really get into Brazilian cooking! :)

Dear Dottie,Thank you very much for your comments! As you can see, I am a little behind with my recipe posting... But I have plans to add new ones over the Summer (I already have the pictures!), and I am pretty sure there will be some meatless ones :o)All the best,

Thank you, Joanne - your picture made me hungry. Time to prepare lunch! I noticed you mixed brown and black beans for your recipe? (if I could see right). That's an interesting approach, because then you don't have to choose between the pinto and the black beans (I love them both!).I hope I can post more recipes soon.All the best,

Can you tell me what the other things are on that plate in the picture at the top? That orange stuff looks especially delicious.

And as an initial guess--is that broccoli rabe in top left part of the plate? That's always been staple with my Italian family in Delaware. I didn't realize it had made its way to Brazil. An Italian Paulista thing, I suppose?

About me

About Me

I'm a Brazilian living in the U.S.
I've finished my PhD in English in 2008 (Translation Studies, Corpus Linguistics and Terminology are my main research areas). In December 2012 I've finished my A.A.S. in Culinary Arts at El Centro College, in Dallas, TX.
I work as a freelance translator of cookbooks. I'm also a Corpus Linguitics researcher and author, and contributor to Mapa da Cachaça website. In January 2013 I moved to Ann Arbor, MI, and since then I've been working part-time for the University of Michigan as Project Manager for Global REACH's Brazil Platform.